Altering the events of history
by xXxElectraxXx
Summary: Sequel to Making the future history. The aftermath of the war has left lasting scars on many people. How will Harry and Severus deal with it and their relationship when new obstacles threaten to cause problems? WARNING: SLASH. HPxSS
1. The Funeral

Altering the events of history

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and many of the places mentioned in this story. The plot is the only thing created by me.**

Here is the sequel to 'Making the future history'. It took me a while but it's finally here! Hope that everyone enjoys it. Please take the time to review. It would be nice to know that people are still reading. I have big plans for this sequel. J Also, please like me on facebook because it would be great to have Snarry conversations with you all on there. The page is: XXxElectraxXx because facebook wouldn't let me have a name that starts with a lower case letter. Anyways, enjoy!

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**Chapter 1:- The Funeral**

It was a bright day; the sky a picture-perfect azure colour and the sun blazing on the greenery of the Hogwarts grounds. It was the set up for a perfect day and still, there was a sombre air that hung among the students and staff at Hogwarts. Today was the memorial of those that had been lost in the war; some of the parents had joined their children for the day, as the loss of their friends had been too great to face alone. Harry was, at the very least, grateful to notice that Rita Skeeter had not returned, after being told by Severus of her intentions. He sat on a seat in the second row, along with the other Order members, and gazed up at the castle that he had once called his home. Only hours ago it had been host to one of the most devastating wizarding battles of all time and Harry couldn't help but notice that the main door still hung slightly to one side after the damage it had taken. He averted his eyes as his attention was stolen by a figure taking a seat in the same row as him. It was Remus looking very exhausted and mournful; Harry thought that he was probably feeling embarrassed that the whole castle had seen him after the transformation, but none of that really mattered now.

The green-eyed man watched as the first coffin, which concealed Professor Sprout, was lowered into the ground and felt the first pang of guilt stab him. Harry moved his line of vision to the floor, paying a lot more attention to the different shades in the grass rather than the other bodies that were being buried. There weren't many of them, as the majority of people were having private funerals arranged by their families, but Dumbledore mentioned all the names. Harry felt tears threaten to spill from his eyes as he listened to the number of people that had died at the hands of the Death Eaters. A familiar hand rested slightly on his thigh before long fingers intertwined with his own; he looked up at his lover's face and saw the battling emotions: sympathy, but also anger that Harry was once again blaming himself. The man took a deep breath and faced his old Headmaster as he began what was sure to be an emotional speech for everyone.

"It saddens me more than anything to have to say goodbye to so many brave and wonderful people all at once. All of the friends that we are here to remember today left us far too early and it is for this reason that I ask you all to strongly consider the paths that lay before you. The people that caused their untimely deaths were once nothing more than any of you: students that would someday have to make a choice about their future. Sadly, they made the wrong choice and as a consequence lives have been lost. Please bear in mind that the easiest and shortest paths can sometimes be the most dangerous and have the most things hidden within them. I hope that every last one of you takes this into consideration and follows a path that is long and winding; one that might exhaust you by the end but one that nonetheless has the best destination," the old man began wisely. Many of the younger students simply looked confused at his metaphorical dialogue, something that Harry himself knew he used to feel at their age when confronted with one of the Headmaster's speeches.

"Although today is a very sad day, I would like you to look at it as the end of a dark time and the means of a new beginning. It is only this that will allow our loved ones to not have died in vain and will provide us all with a better future. Remember those that we have lost as they would want to be remembered and do not let their memories be tarnished by the ways in which they died. Thank you all for being here for the memorial. I think it is best that everyone returns home for a week to be with their families and recover from the events of the war."

With that the old man stepped down and walked away, more than likely to make arrangements for the change in exams. Harry let go of Severus' hand and stood, making his way over to Remus and hoping that his lover would understand. Black eyes followed him over to Remus' seat before looking elsewhere as he sat waiting for their conversation to be over.

"How're you feeling?"

"Exhausted and ashamed."

"Don't be ashamed Remus. We wouldn't have won if it weren't for you."

"Everyone will see me as an animal now."

"You killed Nagini when we had no way of killing her. I would have died if you didn't transform."

"Don't get me wrong Harry, I'm very glad that my transformation helped and between me and you I feel even better that I killed that delusional bitch but no one is ever going to look at me as a man again."

"I don't think that's true Remus. I don't think the old prejudices will be as much of a big deal anymore. Not if last night is anything to go by."

"What do you mean?"

"Someone will have to tell you the details later on but I should have died last night and everyone thought that I had. Everyone was so happy that I was alive that they actually cheered when Severus and I kissed."

"Well that is surprising. I thought you would have to deal with a lot more problems. I suppose I was the only one then." If it was possible, the man looked even more ashamed of himself.

"Because you care about me, not because you were just being prejudiced. I think it's time we forgot about that and any other issues that have come up. We need to move on now and you need to stop letting the fact that you're a werewolf dominate your life. It's a problem one night a month, not every day of the year."

"You're right Harry, I'm being stupid. Who knows what will happen when the new ministry is brought into action. I might even be able to get a job."

"Haven't you heard?"

"Heard what? Funnily enough I didn't really hear about many things when I was running around the forest."

"Kingsley is going to be the new Minister. I don't think you finding a job will be a problem."

Remus smiled at the news and for once was filled with hope that he could live like everyone else and actually earn the money to support his new-born son. He thanked Harry for talking to him and left him to go back to Severus, giving the other man a courteous nod at a distance before heading to his wife's burial at her parents' house. Harry accepted a comforting squeeze of the shoulder from his partner before turning to leave alone with everyone else. To his surprise, Severus accompanied him.

"Are you coming back with me?"

"Well as everyone has been ordered to spend the next week away from the castle, I thought that I might as well join you. This is assuming that I am welcome."

"I like it when you make assumptions." Harry smiled at him and flooed back to Grimmauld Place, followed by the man that would be occupying his house for the next week. He felt happy knowing that they would be living together again, even if it was only for a short amount of time; all those months apart with him pretending to be a Death Eater were almost too much to handle.

"How long do we have?" Severus asked him.

"About an hour or so," Harry answered, feeling the pain settle in as he pictured Tonks' coffin being lowered into the ground like the others he had seen that day at Hogwarts. Severus said nothing, noticing the tone in his voice and knowing how quick he was to blame himself for everything; instead he kissed him on the forehead before leaving the room to get them some toast before the next burial.

Harry took this time to sit down in his living room and think about what he was going to do with Severus for the next week. They were a lot less restricted now that the war was over and there was no one hunting for their blood. He supposed it was going to take him a while to get over the aftermath of the war but he knew that he would have everyone else's support. He didn't really know how to react with the Weasleys now that they had lost Percy though; should he just go over uninvited like he usually would? Or was that maybe a bit too much? He knew he was being stupid: none of them blamed him for anything but that didn't mean that he didn't blame himself. He realised that the main question was whether he could ignore his guilt and face them. They were his family after all.

It was at that moment when things had started to seem slightly more positive that they once again became a hundred times worse, as they always did. An owl pecked at the living room window and Harry opened it, wondering who he would be receiving a letter from this close to the end of the war. It was a letter with a smallish package attached to it and so with confusion on his face, he tore open the envelope to reveal the short note within in.

_Harry and Severus,_

_Firstly, I give my apologies for what you are about to read. I can assure you that it was out of my control. Rita Skeeter was clever enough to publish the latest Daily Prophet edition when there was no Minister for Magic and therefore, no one to stop her. She has published a 'war edition' newspaper, which as I'm sure you can guess is mainly full of complete rubbish. I can guarantee that Skeeter has now lost her job and will not be posting anything else for us. There will be a retraction written about the articles tomorrow but unfortunately people are still likely to read this issue._

_My apologies,_

_Kingsley_

Angry already, Harry tore open the package and glared at the 'war edition' of the Prophet and saw his own body being clutched by a distraught Severus, who then proceeded to shout in the photographer's face. He was soon joined by Dumbledore, who looked sterner than Harry had ever seen him before. Preparing himself with a deep breath, he began to read what was bound to be the most ridiculous front page article he had ever seen.

_TERRIBLE TRIO_

_Reporters were stunned in the early hours of this morning to arrive on the scene of the Battle of Hogwarts. Not only were we distraught at the loss of so many lives, particularly those that had only joined Hogwarts this year but also the sight of our hero, Harry Potter, supposedly dead in the arms of his Death Eater lover, Severus Snape. I, along with my team, had gone to the scene to report the death of the most evil wizard since Grindelwald and was shocked to discover such a scandal. It was upon the discovery of Harry Potter's body that we uncovered this frightful news and only hours later did we hear that he had in fact been alive the entire time. Now of course we had always been supporting Harry Potter in his quest to defeat He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named but this obsessive need to kill him single-handedly seems now to be his way of becoming the next Dark Wizard._

_Severus Snape had been a loyal servant of You-Know-Who since anyone can remember and it is disturbing to consider how his sordid relationship with our supposed saviour began. Perhaps it was an attempt for Harry Potter to get inside information on the side that he was planning to take over and lead with the help of his right-hand man. The rest of us of course, would prefer not to think of what other actions that man has been performing with his right-hand or even his left for that matter! As my mother once used to say, a Dark Wizard never changes his broomstick!_

_Harry Potter's fake death is rumoured to be in connection with that of Albus Dumbledore, also alive, but last year allegedly killed by none other than Severus Snape himself. I ask you, if Potter and Dumbledore really have been fighting for the light this entire time, then why would they feel the need to lie to us? Death is something that has affected us all in one way or another and these men have purposefully lied about it. The sickening lessons that Albus Dumbledore must be teaching his students at Hogwarts worry us even more. It appears that after years of battling it, Albus Dumbledore has finally cracked._

_I, for one, am determined to find out the connection between these three men and the reason for their numerous atrocious lies. Have we been putting our faith in the wrong people all along?_

_See more:_

_Harry Potter: The next Dark Wizard p3_

_20 reasons to not trust Albus Dumbledore p6_

_Scandals of Severus Snape p10_

_Death Eater trials to be set p12_

_List of victims of the battle p15_

Harry's eyes burned through the paper in his hand and if he had any less control over his magic, it would be in flames in front of him. How could that disgusting human being write such a horrible article when the main fear of the Wizarding World had come to an end? People were supposed to be celebrating! Not wondering who to be scared of next and what was going to happen to them if Harry decided to take Voldemort's place.

The scene would almost have been comical if it weren't for the situation: Severus walked into the room with a plate full of toast in each hand and as he bit into his first slice, he noticed his partner shaking slightly and glaring angrily at what looked like the Prophet. Being Severus, he would usually have made an inappropriate sarcastic comment about the look on Harry's face but he knew what could be in that article and what could be going through his lover's head. He slowly walked up to the other man and took the paper from his hands, almost scared to read the thing himself, seeing that he'd had horrible articles written about him before so he supposed it couldn't get any worse. He was wrong.

"CAN YOU BELIEVE THE FUCKING CHEEK OF THAT WOMAN?" boomed Harry when he saw that Severus had finished reading. He didn't know how best to respond, as he didn't want to make Harry angrier but he didn't want the man to think that he didn't care.

"After this many years, we finally defeat Voldemort and someone still has to spread shit and make it look bad. HOW THE FUCK IS KILLING A DARK WIZARD BAD? Only she could do this. No other reporter would ever have been able to twist this many things."

He knew it should be the least of his concerns right now after everything that was said in the article but Severus still couldn't help studying the picture on the front page. It wasn't the anger and violence that he was showing that disturbed him but the emotion that he was showing when he thought Harry to be dead. Admittedly, at the time it didn't seem like the worst thing, considering that he thought his Harry was dead but now, looking back on it, he realised that all the people in the Great Hall had seen his true colours and now, the world could see it on the cover of the newspaper. It wasn't a bad thing for people to know that he had feelings he guessed but he had spent this many years pretending to feel nothing and now all that hard work had gone to shambles.

"Severus, are you actually going to say anything or are you just going to stare at it as if it might disappear if you look hard enough?" Harry spat.

"Not everyone in the world feels the need to shout whenever the occasion occurs. I'm just as angry as you are but that doesn't mean that I have to show it so obviously."

"Oh because you weren't showing your emotions obviously here then?" he challenged.

"Don't you dare throw that in my face! I thought you were dead. How exactly did you expect me to react?"

"That is exactly how I expect you to react but maybe you should do it more often! That's what humans do Severus! They express emotion! We're not all fucking robots!" Severus stormed off upstairs, worried about what he might say to Harry if he stayed around him any longer. The hurt rippled through his entire body and he could hardly believe that Harry, the only person that he had ever expressed himself to fully, thought him to be a robot or something that lacked any emotion. All the moments that they had shared should have proved otherwise and although he knew that he still found it difficult after all these years, he had tried his best to open up to his lover and clearly that was all to no avail.

Too angry to even consider going after him, Harry apparated to Ted and Andromeda's house early, knowing that all things taken into account, his argument with Severus was nothing in comparison to what else was happening today. He appeared outside the house with a pop and knocked on the door, waiting to be invited in and looking sombre. The toast that Severus had made for the two of them lay forgotten on the living room table.

"Harry, you're early," Remus said upon answering the door.

"I'm sorry. I hope that's not a problem."

"Of course it isn't. I'm glad you're here," he smiled grimly at him before leading him into the house, where he was met by Tonks' grieving parents. Teddy lay asleep in a nearby Moses basket, snoring gently, too young to realise the cold and horrid atmosphere surrounding all the adults. The time passed unbearably slowly until more people arrived; there were very few people coming to the funeral, as Tonks' family wanted it to be a small and private occasion.

"Harry, I forgot to ask; Ted, Andromeda and I are going to be making speeches in the funeral and we were wondering if you wouldn't mind being in charge of Teddy for us throughout it? If you don't want to then I understand and I'm sure someone else will."

"Remus, of course I will. I'm his Godfather and I should be the one looking after him when you need me to." He smiled reassuringly and gained a slight grin in return before the turquoise-haired sleeping baby was passed to him. Harry looked down at his unconscious Godson and made his way out into the back garden, taking a seat next to Ron and Hermione, who were holding hands, most likely to stop Hermione crying. He stroked Teddy's face as other people began to sit around them, including Severus much to his surprise. He assumed that the man wouldn't be coming after the argument that they had had but he sat himself in the spare seat on the other side of Harry. Neither of them could exchange a single word as the funeral speeches had begun and everyone else was silent. Harry wanted to apologise but he felt that what had happened between the two of them was just as much Severus' fault as it was his and his stubbornness got in the way.

Unlike Hermione, Harry managed to stay strong throughout the majority of the service but found his usual twinge of guilt and slight heartache as Remus took the stand and began his speech.

"I never thought that I would be here and having to do this, especially so soon after my first child was born. Throughout Dora's pregnancy, we both constantly worried about how we would be as parents and whether we would be able to do right by our child. Of course, I always told her that she would be a perfect mother and we all know that would have been the case. This is the worst part about her death: the fact that she never got to prove what an amazing mother she would have been, but I will spend the rest of my life making sure that Teddy knows what a great woman she was and how much she loved him."

Harry lowered his head, watching his tear drops falling onto Teddy's blanket and absorbing themselves into the material. A strong but caring arm wrapped itself around him and he was pulled onto his lover's shoulder, allowing himself to bury his head in the black robes while silently crying. Severus tightened his grip around his lover, trying to protect him from his own thoughts about himself and those that had died. Mrs Weasley took Teddy from him as his sobbing became more uncontrolled and sat back down with him in her arms. Harry used the new freedom to his advantage and snuggled up closer to Severus, who kissed his partner's head in exchange. He didn't let go of Harry until Remus had said his last words and Tonks' coffin was being lowered into the ground before them. Harry forced himself to look up at this part to pay his last respects; guilt and pain swam through the emerald eyes as he saw the last part of the coffin covered with earth.

Nothing was said between Harry and Severus about their argument, as they had both realised that it was nothing in comparison to the pain that some people were experiencing that day. After a few short conversations with his friends, Harry was eager to leave, unwilling to stay in such a depressing atmosphere whilst feeling as if he had caused it himself. He handed Teddy back to Remus, giving his godson a tight squeeze before doing so and made his final apologies to the other man for his loss. He looked around at Tonks' parents sobbing in the back of the garden near where their daughter had been buried and closed his eyes on the scene, apparating back home.

He felt slightly woozy from the apparition, which he supposed was due to the amount of emotions that he was feeling all at once. Severus appeared next to him a second later and Harry was pulled into the tightest hug that he had ever had. He let more tears fall soak into his lover's robes, not holding back this time. Severus simply allowed him his moment of weakness and said nothing, holding onto his waist tightly, as he felt his shoulders become damp from the tears. It took several minutes for Harry to compose himself once more and when he did, he was glad that Severus had chosen not to say anything to him. They definitely didn't need another argument on such a depressing day.

"Harry, the people who were lost in the war will never be forgotten but you can't blame yourself for their deaths. They were all on your side willingly and they knew what they were doing. No one, particularly Nymphadora, would have wanted you to feel like this and they would have wanted you to move on and enjoy life." He really was trying not to take the wrong tone with his partner, knowing that at this particular moment in time, he needed someone that was understanding. Severus had chosen not to act as he usually would and shout at the man for even considering blaming himself. This was the first time that he had ever thought twice before speaking and he supposed being in a relationship, he was now going to have to do it more often. He wasn't entirely sure whether he thought that to be a good or a bad thing.

"I know that. I just can't stop thinking about how things could have been different."

"Yes they could have been different but in an awful way. You nearly died in the final battle and then no one would have had any hope for the future. It would have been dominated by evil and selfishness. Maybe you should be thinking about in what ways things have changed for the better rather than the worse."

"I love you Severus," he replied, burying his head in the taller man's chest once more.

"I know Harry. I love you too."


	2. A Change in Policy

Altering the events of history

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and many of the places mentioned in this story. The plot is the only thing created by me.**

To my anonymous reviewer: I normally respond in a PM but I can't when you're anonymous so thank you for your review and I hope you continue to read.

Sorry to keep everyone waiting for this chapter but I have been crazily stressed out and no matter how much time I spent writing, it just wasn't my best work. I really need to thank my beta reader Limelight12 for having the patience to wait so long for a chapter and to actually send it back to me almost straight away! I will try to be as dedicated as her from now on. This was a very exciting chapter to write and hopefully you will all enjoy it. Please like XXxElectraxXx on facebook to talk to me!

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**Chapter 2:- A Change in Policy**

An air of power radiated from Kingsley Shacklebolt as he walked through the Ministry of Magic, throwing orders at everyone to play their part in the changes. He wasn't the bossiest person in the world by far but right now he had a job to do and he'd set himself a target to have it finished by the end of the day. How could anyone go about their day job at the Ministry, knowing that there would still be dark artefacts within it and maybe even the odd curse lurking? The Minister for Magic continued his patrol around the building that he was now in charge of, making note of anything that seemed out of place or tampered with in some way; paying special attention to the areas that were least popular to the Death Eaters, such as the Muggle Artefacts office. After his long list of objects and possible spells was complete, he added some dark diminishing spells that he'd learnt in his time as an Auror as well as some powerful protection spells. Once he was finished with the Ministry, no one would ever believe that it had been the home of dark witches and wizards and he was certain that he would never allow this to happen again. He used the list almost as a map of where to begin in the building, starting from the highest floors and making his way downwards with his team.

Determination in his eyes, the Minister lead the way, hurling himself into the midst of the action, unlike what most of his predecessors would have done. He didn't care whether he had to spend his entire day there alone, he would gut the entire building of any traces of unwanted magic and those that performed it. The process was long and complicated, with the spells used for examination, destruction and in some cases, dilution. Thankful for a hard-working team, Minister Shacklebolt was happy to allow them to split up, hoping for an earlier finish. He only hoped that his efforts paid off and that they were noticed by the right people, earning him political popularity. As a person, he was not the slightest bit concerned about what people thought of him but as a Minister, he knew that he would need the support of the nation if possible; in his opinion a lack of support for the previous ministers was partially what caused their diminished success. He was going to be nothing like them and was going to lead the nation into success and power, rather than watching it crash and burn like so many before him.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

At Grimmauld Place, Harry and Severus were enjoying the start of their week together, using the time to talk over Harry's options for the future. Severus hoped that Harry would consider taking his NEWT exams, with a little extra tuition from him and a couple of others. The more they discussed it, the more Harry became accustomed to the idea but there was still something about his future that he wasn't sure about. After spending the majority of his life being sought out by a dark wizard, he wasn't sure that he wanted to continue battling. Being an Auror was the only thing that he had ever considered but he just felt that it was what he was destined to do. The Wizarding World expected him to be their saviour and that is what he did but what now? How did he even know what he was good at? He'd never had enough time to think about it. His only skill other than Defence Against the Dark Arts was Quidditch and he wasn't sure that he could see himself doing that professionally. Playing for a Quidditch team would only bring him more unwanted fame and he wasn't sure that he could cope with it anymore.

"Severus, I really just don't know what to do. I should know that by now."

"Most people your age don't have their ideas set in stone about their career so please don't feel like you should know by now. You haven't even had a childhood or a regular time at school so at what point were you supposed to think about careers?" The man ran his fingers through his partner's hair reassuringly as they lay on the sofa together.

"I can't use that as an excuse for everything Severus. I need to take responsibility for the fact that I am an idiot who doesn't think about anything."

"Well admittedly, you are an idiot" he smirked.

"Thanks very much for the support" the green-eyed man laughed.

"We may have a *ahem* different understanding than before but that does not mean that I will pass up the opportunity to mock you whenever the occasion arises."

"I suppose I should be expecting this for the rest of my life?"

"The rest of your life? Is that right?"

"Oh, I… I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that…I'm such an idiot!"

"We're back to this are we? Please stop giving me these lines. They will only come back on you" the man grinned as he took his lover's chin in his hand and pressed his lips softly against the younger ones. Harry smiled into the kiss and responded sweetly before breaking apart from his lover and laughing at himself.

"I really don't think about anything, do I?" he chuckled.

"Well I would say that there's one thing that you're always thinking about" replied Severus in a subtly seductive tone with one hooked eyebrow. He took the palm of his hand and stroked it very lightly along his lover's leg and smiled in satisfaction at the shiver that he received in return.

"And what makes you think that I'm always thinking about it?" the younger lover played along.

"You were always thinking about it before we got together so now that we've engaged in sexual activity I'm assuming that you think about it more."

"As much as I don't think that you should make assumptions about me, I have to say that you're not far off the mark."

"I very rarely am" came the silky voice before going in for another kiss, which his lover sank into and responded more hungrily, taking in all of the man that he could. Harry found himself pulled onto his lover's lap as his tongue found its way past pouted lips and into a very willing mouth. He pushed it lightly against Severus', teasing him with the tip before the two tongues were slowly massaged together, creating a unique surge of heat between the lovers. Severus pulled Harry closer to his body so that the green-eyed man was straddling him and pushing him harshly into the sofa. The pace quickened with no hesitation as the men became increasingly aroused with the younger of the two purposefully pressing his erection against the older man's leg, causing him to groan into his mouth.

"I told you that I knew what you were thinking" smirked Severus.

"And are you trying to tell me that you're not thinking exactly the same thing?"

"That's for you to find out. I'm not going to make it easy for you." Harry shuffled himself forwards so that he could feel Severus' hardening cock against his own and grinned at the man, pleased with himself.

"You've made it very easy" he teased as he began kissing the man's neck, nibbling it slightly as he continued to arouse him. Harry could feel the vibrations against his lips and teeth as the moaning left the throat of the man underneath him. Severus' hands were digging in his back hard, almost forcing him to stay in position, not that Harry would move given the choice.

"So why all of a sudden have you decided that you like me on top?"

"It's not that I like you on top. It's that I can reach more of you in this position than if our roles were reversed."

"You definitely didn't complain about me being on top the other night" the man continued to tease.

"That was a special occasion." If Severus were anyone else, he would most definitely have a blush to his cheeks.

"So you didn't like it?"

"That's not what I said."

"So you did like it? Which means I'm now the dominant one and you're the submissive one." The teasing tone didn't stop Severus from becoming immediately insecure and using his anger as a defence mechanism.

"Shut it Potter! I give you one night on top and you think that accounts for all the times that I've had you writhing underneath me, begging me? I don't think there's any question of who the bottom is in this relationship" he spat, perhaps more harshly than he meant to.

"Severus, there's no need to talk to me like that. Just because you can't handle the idea of someone having power over you because you're a control freak doesn't mean you can talk to me like shit." He pulled himself off the man and threw himself down harshly next to the man on the sofa, looking pointedly away. "Anyway, what is the point in this top and bottom shit? Why does our relationship have to be like that? Not everyone does that. Maybe there is no top and bottom in our relationship. Maybe we're equals. Doesn't that sound better?"

"I don't work like that and you should know it. I have never had sexual partners that were equal to me because it is just easier to have a top and a bottom."

"And you always do things the easy way?" Harry half-laughed.

"Fair point Potter."

"I'm sorry that I teased you but I thought that we have enough understanding that you would realise that I wasn't saying it to hurt you or make you feel beneath me."

"You're right. I'm sorry." He pulled the man closer to him and into a loose embrace.

"So we're equals?"

"Yes, we're equals."

"Sex should just happen the way it happens but that doesn't mean I don't like it when you take control" he said sheepishly.

"Does that mean you won't complain if I take control today?"

"Definitely not."

"Good. Because you have absolutely no choice in the matter whatsoever" he smirked as he grabbed his lover and pulled him back up onto his lap.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

The ministry reformation was going well, despite the fact that it had taken the majority of the day to even remove some of the minor and less complicated curses. Kingsley had refused to take a break from the hard work, not caring about his exhaustion or the consequences that it might have on him later on. He had changed teams a few times, not wanting to force anyone to work too long on such a long-winded and tiresome project. The workers all helped de-curse their own departments along with some of the Aurors. Kingsley felt a stab of remorse as he thought of the loss of some of the most hard-working ones. He had to push the thoughts away as he remembered Nymphadora Tonks and considered the jokes that she would be telling to lighten up the situation. She may not have been the best with spells but she was by far one of the best people to have as part of a team, keeping everyone motivated with her quick wit and of course her heart of gold.

The team traipsed on, determination keeping them going, along with the knowledge that they only had a few floors to go but Kingsley didn't have the heart to break it to them that the bottommost floor would by far be the most difficult. He had a feeling that there would be several dark and powerful curses in the Department of Mysteries, bearing in mind that Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters had all battled the Order of the Phoenix there only a few years ago. He didn't even want to consider what the damage could be down there, especially as there were already some very strange things down there. He couldn't think about that right now though. The minister made himself concentrate on the current room, as he attempted to work out what particular dark curse was on all the secretaries' quills, which allowed razor sharp blades to stick into the hands on anyone that attempted to use them.

"I'm certain it's an ancient spite curse, though that was originally used for a particular person so it must be very strong for it to affect anyone that touches it" explained Dawlish as he examined the object.

"Do you know of any spells that might be able to reverse it or do you think it would be best to just destroy them?" Kingsley asked him.

"You can't destroy our quills! They cost a lot of money and they're all programmed to our needs. It would take months to get new ones sorted" cried one of the secretaries.

"Well, I suppose we'd better get cracking with ideas then" Kingsley sighed as he checked the time, hoping with any luck that they would somehow be out of there by midnight.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

Elsewhere, things were starting to get very heated between Harry and Severus once more, as their argument had subsided and merged into further passion. Severus had almost torn his partner's shirt off and thrown it onto the floor, several feet away from them. The kisses were rushed and harsh, with random clicking of teeth and clumsy movements. The two were creating as much friction as they possibly could between themselves, enjoying the sensation and savouring the time before their clothes were completely removed, perfectly aware that once they were stripped, everything would become much more fast-paced and animalistic. Being on top of Severus gave Harry the opportunity to rock his hips into his partner's, which he gladly took at a fast pace as he tried to pull the man's unbuttoned shirt off his arms. Not long after, the majority of their clothes had been discarded until their boxers remained the only obstacles, not allowing their bare skin to touch.

Hungry for his lover, Severus began jerking Harry's red underwear down to the floor, which the man gladly stepped out of, freeing his previously strained cock and leaving him completely naked. The younger man attempted to reciprocate as he stroked his hands down Severus's chest and towards his boxers but he was stopped in his tracks. Severus grabbed his wrists and held them in front of him, restricting him from moving any further and giving him all the attention that he wanted.

"Once you do this, I am going to become very controlling under this level of arousal. If you cannot deal with that then I suggest that you stop right now." Harry pulled his hands out of the tight grip and immediately removed the offending material, saying nothing and letting his mind fill of dirty images that he knew would very soon become reality. Severus said nothing but simply stared at Harry, his eyes glazed over with the lust that had long taken over his mind and would soon be doing the same with his body. He threw Harry off his lap and to the side, landing harshly on top of him on the other side of the sofa. Sloppy but passionate kisses turned into painful and possessive bites that left angry red marks, the boldest of which were prominent on his neck, leading down to the tops of his thighs. Painful gasps as well as sounds of extreme pleasure filled the room, as Harry became a victim of desire for his older lover.

"I believe you were under the impression that you had some form of sexual control?" he sneered from between Harry's legs.

"Ok. I-I don't always- ah- have control" he made out through erotic noises.

"I'm glad to hear you admit that. Now I just need to hear you say who does have the control" Severus whispered seductively, biting down onto a newly formed bruise.

"AHH! You might have the control Severus but you only do because I enjoy it."

"You wouldn't enjoy it if I were to be as controlling as I can be."

"I would. I love your controlling side. It turns me on and makes me see how much you want me" Harry whimpered as his red marks were licked softly.

"Is that a challenge?"

"If you choose to accept it."

"Very well Potter." The man climbed off him and stood up, baring himself in all his glory to the younger man before him. "On your knees" he demanded.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

Kingsley had become extremely tired now. It was dark out and time had been moving very slowly for the best part of the evening, increasingly so due to the loss of the majority of his team after hours. He had no issue with them leaving of course, as it was far too late for anyone to be expected to be working, particularly for those that had families waiting for them at home. The main priorities of the Minister differed from theirs though of course and Kingsley would not leave until he was 100% certain that there was absolutely no trace of dark magic in the building. The safety of his employees and the visitors was far too important and he wanted to start his political reign as he meant to go on.

He could barely keep his eyes open as he searched the Department of Mysteries, along with two other Aurors that had refused to go home until the work was done. He had been correct when he had assumed that this would be the most difficult place to search, with many hidden enchantments that the Unspeakables had cast to assure their privacy, not even to mention some hard work by Death Eaters. This department had taken twice as much time as the rest of them and several of the spells had needed further research to remove. Sighing as he repeatedly checked an enchanted cabinet that had literally tried to bite his hand off when he opened the door, the Minster for Magic almost called it a day. His ideas were running out and the Aurors had spent a good half an hour on this one piece of furniture.

"We can handle this Minister. You go on to the last room and check it out. We shouldn't all waste our time on one thing" insisted Auror Garuda.

"Perhaps you're right. I'll go on through. Please call me if you need anything."

He left the two Aurors to continue working on the cabinet as he traipsed through to the room that he had purposefully left until last. It held far too many memories for him and despite this, it was in fact, the room that he least wanted to work on. This room had meant something drastic for the Order of the Phoenix, as in this exact place almost two years ago, they had lost one of their members. During the battle of The Department of Mysteries, Sirius Black had been murdered by his own deranged cousin, as he fought in order to save his godson. The reminiscences came flooding back as Kingsley saw the veil through which the man had fallen, still a convicted criminal of a murder that he did not commit. Ghostly whispers filled his ears as he drew nearer the archway, chilling him in a way that nothing else ever had. The fear of the unknown was somewhat cliché but there was something about that veil that was very unsettling. There was never any record of when it had appeared within the ministry and no one seemed to know anything about what it did and why. The Unspeakables had been far too secretive about anything that was contained in the bottommost floor of the Ministry of Magic and Kingsley strongly suspected that this meant that they didn't even know themselves.

Not wanting to think about the magic behind the veil until he absolutely had to, the minister began testing the surroundings first. The only other things in the room were the steep rocks around him and although he was sure they would contain no dark magic of any kind, he still checked every single one of them. When the final rock had been tested for jinxes, Kingsley took a deep breath as he ended his procrastination and stood before the spooky archway. The spirits' whispers became louder but he still couldn't make out anything that they were saying or perhaps it was simply that he didn't want to understand the words. Several checks later revealed one single dark spell on the veil that he could not quite work out but all the same, it appeared extremely powerful. Kingsley began casting dark magic banishment spells over and over but nothing could cut it. The beams of light simply sank into the arch as if they were merely nothing more than an energy source.

"Minister, you're straining yourself!" Dawlish shouted, after several minutes of exhaustive spell-casting. Beads of sweat had formed on Kingsley's face as he began to lose hope. The other Aurors began casting spells on the veil and nodded in agreement as they came up with a solution.

"We need to do this all together. The enchantment on the veil is too powerful" Garuda told the minister, who simply sighed and raised his wand.

"After three. ONE- TWO- THREE!"

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

"What's wrong Potter, are you scared?" Severus teased. The green-eyed wizard couldn't respond with speech and so followed the command that had been given to him, kneeling before his lover, trembling with excitement and nerves. He looked up at the man in front of him, becoming impossibly hard at the prospect of what he knew was about to happen.

"Suck me off Potter." Although the two had become comfortable with each other, it was still sometimes shocking for Harry to hear the man speak in such a sexual manner. Very aroused, the younger wizard played along with the man's game, all too willing to be the submissive role for his controlling partner. The man's expression was serious but Harry knew him well enough to recognise the slight softness in his eyes, which was reserved just for him to see. He was the only person that saw this side to Severus and he was fully aware that no matter how the man acted in role-play, he cared about Harry and was only doing this to excite him. It was definitely working!

"Are you waiting for something?" he barked, pulling the younger man's head towards his hardness and leaving him hovering less than an inch in front of it. Without hesitation, Harry closed the space between them and took the head of Severus' cock into his mouth, licking around the head and teasing him. The wizard's head threw back in passion and a low moan left his lips as he pushed Harry's head into him, encouraging him to take more into his mouth. Harry obliged taking in a couple of inches before tightening his lips around the erection and slipping it slowly back out of his mouth. He repeated the action a few more times before he was forced to take more and he found half of his lover's penis sliding in and out of him. He grasped the base of the man's cock, pumping it as its tip immersed itself in his mouth. Severus' hand did not leave the back of Harry's head as he slowly began to thrust forwards, groaning out loud as the wet heat took more and more of his length. In his enthusiasm, he pushed slightly too fast and a surprised Harry pulled backwards, choking on his gag reflex.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

Several long minutes of spell-casting later and the minster and his two Aurors were at ease, perfectly certain that no dark magic remained in the ministry.

"Thank you for staying so late and for your dedication. Please don't come into work tomorrow. You both deserve the time off."

"Are you sure Minister?" Dawlish inquired.

"Go home before I change my mind Dawlish" Kingsley laughed. He glanced over the room once more, proud of himself and his team for all the hard work that they had put into the renovation of the Ministry. He then left, ready for a good night's sleep before his first proper day in office.

If he had stayed in the room, he would have noticed that the veil was now changing itself very gradually from a dull grey colour to a heavenly white and back again. After doing this seven times, a bright light emitted from the archway and left four men and one woman standing in front of it, looking very confused.

Sirius Black looked around at his surrounding and then at the other people next to him.

_What are these people doing here? Where's Harry? I need to go and find them. I don't get what's happening._

"AHH! It's Sirius Black!" screamed the only woman and everyone suddenly turned their wands on him.

"As much as I appreciate the warm greeting, I don't think now is the time for explaining my innocence. Now what are all you people doing here and where is my godson?"

"Come to think of it, what ARE all you people doing here?" asked one of the men.

A very strange discussion ensued, leaving the group in realisation that something odd had happened to all of them, after somehow going behind the veil. Sirius cast a spell to check the date and was very shocked to find that it was almost two years later than he was expecting.

"1998?" questioned one of the strangers, "But I was in 1995! I don't understand!"

"We've travelled into the future somehow" stated the woman. "I think we are all best off going home until we can work out what has happened to us and why." The group agreed and exchanged names so that they would be able to contact each other when they realised what was going on. Turning back to the veil and giving it a questioning look, Sirius was certain that he heard the voice of his dead best friend: "Look after him Siri" it said. Scared, Sirius fled the room and immediately apparated home, the only place that he knew it would be safe to go. He appeared in his hallway, confused and exhausted, thinking that he would just get a drink and head to bed before trying to work anything else out. He walked past the living room door to get to the kitchen but heard moaning from behind it. Sirius pressed his ear up against the door, deciding that he must have been imagining it but only received confirmation. A second person appeared to begin choking and Sirius frowned as he wondered who would be having oral sex in his living room! He supposed a lot must have happened in two years.

"Get on with it Potter! Don't be such a baby!" barked the voice of Sirius' school rival, Severus Snape. Anger boiling from his skin. He threw the door open and let the handle hit the wall loudly where it struck it.

xXxHPxXxSSxXx

Choking on the cock that had been in his mouth, Harry fell backwards slightly, embarrassed of his lack of his experience for the first time in a while. Severus still held his hand on the back of Harry's head but did not bring the man back towards him for him to continue. He left him for a moment or so, waiting for him to recover and once his breathing had returned to normal, he pulled him back in. The excitement of the situation meant that neither of the two heard the small pop that came from the hallway.

"Get on with it Potter! Don't be such a baby!" he said in angry contrast to the behaviour of his thumb, which was stroking the side of Harry's face gently, almost as if to remind him that he was playing. Determination in his eyes, his younger lover launched forwards, taking as much of the man's hardness into his mouth as physically possible and resuming his pumping of the base as he continued the blowjob. Severus pushed the green-eyed wizard's head back and forth on his cock as his pleasure built up and the moans from his mouth became uncontrollable.

"That's it! Take it!" he growled just before the two of them jerked around at the sound of a door hitting the wall and staring in shock at a furious Sirius Black.


	3. Fight or Flight

Altering the events of history

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and many of the places mentioned in this story. The plot is the only thing created by me.**

Ok, I'm back and I really am sorry for the break but unfortunately it was necessary. I shall not bore you with the details but take this as me grovelling for forgiveness and hoping that I haven't lost any readers along the way! I now have some form of structure to my life and will be updating more often now. Thanks for waiting.

Thank you to my beta-reader Limelight12 (even though she reads my chapters instead of writing her assignments. :P)

Enjoy!

* * *

**Chapter 3:- Fight or flight**

Sirius stared in horror at the situation before him, unable to contemplate how it could have occurred and even why. If he wasn't already furious to the point of committing murder, he would have become even angrier at the sickening 'pop' sound that was made after Harry removed his mouth from his Professor's cock and looked around at him in fear and confusion. Sirius simply gawped in disgust as his enemy turned around and zipped himself up, seemingly completely unembarrassed, which further aggravated him. It wasn't until he saw his godson blush a deep shade of crimson and cover his face in shame that he was brought back down to Earth and found his words.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing to my godson?" he growled, spitting as he spoke.

"I think you'll find that I wasn't actually doing anything to your godson Black" he smirked. He was completely confused about what was occurring but he still couldn't help but see the amusing side of the situation. After all, it wasn't often that you were having rough foreplay with your partner in the living room, only to be disturbed by someone that not only was your worst enemy but your lover's godfather and also, supposedly dead. He thought that he'd actually laugh if he wasn't so confused.

"Shut your face, you disgusting piece of shit! He's just a kid and you've got him- well- you know what you were making him do!"

"Firstly, he is not a 'kid' as you put it but actually a full adult, almost 18 and also, I was not making him do anything."

"I may have been missing for the past two years but I can still see and I can still hear and I know what you were doing to my godson!" At this point, Sirius pulled out his wand, advancing forward and pointing it at Severus. Leaving his shame on the floor where he previously sat, Harry jumped in front of his partner, hoping that his godfather wasn't angry enough to attack him too.

"Sirius stop!"

"Harry, get out of the way. You don't need to defend him and don't be ashamed. This isn't your fault" he said as calmly as he possibly could. Severus looked around for his wand and retrieved it from the floor nearby as he thought of how best to handle the situation. He was all for stunning the man and asking questions later but he knew that Harry would never agree to it. That said, he wasn't going to stand there and have a wand pointed at him either.

"Please just listen to me. I wanted to do it. We were both- we were…" How was he supposed to finish that sentence? His 'dead' godfather had just walked in on him giving head to his worst enemy and looked like he was quite literally ready for another Azkaban sentence as long as it meant he could kill the man before him. He wanted to tell him how it was but there was just too much stress in the situation.

"Harry, we will talk about this later. Just step aside and I will make him pay for what he's done to you." This was the point that spells started flying; Severus had tried to stun Sirius but the other man had blocked the spell just as quickly. It seemed that he still had the knack, even after not using magic for almost two years. Severus pushed Harry out of the way as began a duel with the man's godfather, with different coloured spells flying around the room, breaking ornaments and in some cases, causing some things to set on fire. Spotting his wand and thinking as quickly as possible, Harry apparated to Remus' house, needing some extra support from someone that knew how to handle his godfather.

He appeared in the hallway and called out to the wolf but no one responded. He couldn't even hear Teddy making noises and so he knew that Remus wouldn't be home. His next destination was Andromeda and Ted's house, knowing that if Remus wasn't at home, he was more than likely with his son's grandparents. He didn't know them well enough to simply apparate into their house and so landed on the doorstep, banging on the door as hard and fast as he could, hoping that by the time they got there, the two men would both still be alive. After what seemed like an eternity, the voice of Ted Tonks came from the door, asking who was there.

"It's Harry sir, I need to speak to Remus. It's urgent." The door opened instantly and Harry was faced with Ted and his wand, which he had not lowered in caution.

"REMUS!" he shouted through the door, before even entering the house. Ted stepped back from the entrance, allowing Harry inside, deciding that it was him and it most definitely had to be an emergency. The sounds of fast-moving footsteps filled Harry's ears along with the distant sound of a baby crying. He had no time to feel guilty about waking Teddy up: his main priority was to get back to Grimmauld Place before too much damage had been done.

"Harry, what's happened? Is someone hurt?" Remus asked him, panicking.

"Sorry- Grimmauld Place- living room- now" he got out before apparating, hoping that the man would just follow him. When he appeared back in the living room, slightly dizzy from apparition, Remus had grabbed hold of him to stop him from stumbling but almost dropped him when he saw his dead best friend, fighting Severus in front of them.

"Remus?" he questioned, losing concentration and instantly getting hit by Severus' stunning spell, leaving him unconscious. Severus began putting out the small fires around them and repairing as many of the household objects as he could.

"What-what the-why?" Remus tried.

"We don't know. He walked in on something a bit inappropriate and we haven't had time to ask many questions" Harry answered, fully aware of what Remus' questions would be as they matched his own.

"We need to find out what's going on."

"I don't think we have any chance of that until someone manages to convince him that what he saw was consensual" joined in Severus.

"I think that might take some time." Remus was shocked to the core and confused too. He thought he had lost his friend long ago and now he was back and apparently at the worst possible moment.

"What are we going to do?" asked Harry.

"First things first. Incarcerous. Expelliarmus. Silencio" Severus cast the spells on Sirius and the other two watched as the man was bound and disarmed.

"Lupin, you're going to have to talk to him. He won't listen to either of us after what he just saw. We'll leave the room and you'll have to bring us back in when he's going to tell us what happened to him." Remus agreed but began shaking slightly with nerves, worrying about what the conversation would behold. After the lovers left the room, Remus turned to his friend and woke him from the stunning spell. As expected, Sirius immediately began struggling against the ropes binding him and went blue in the face from trying to shout, all to no avail.

"Sirius, I'm sorry to have to talk to you like this but you need to listen to me before I let you go." The man stared back at him with more fury than Remus had seen in anyone in a long time.

"First of all, you need to calm down because we need to know why you're here and how it happened. The last thing we knew, you died in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries and fell through the veil and so we need to know what happened after that. Also, you've been gone for two years and since then a lot has happened as I'm sure you've already gathered. It will take you time to adjust but I will help you through it and so will Harry. Lastly, although you won't be able to understand this, Harry and Severus are in a relationship. I know that when you last knew them, they didn't care for each other very much at all but now things are very different. I will lift the silencing charm if you promise not to shout. Is that a deal?"

Sirius' eyes could have pierced a hole through Remus' if he stared any harder but nonetheless, the man nodded his agreement and the charm was lifted.

"Don't believe him Remus. He was forcing himself on him. Making Harry do things. It makes me feel sick." His voice was hoarse from the shouting that he'd done before and so he spoke softly, knowing that whatever was happening, it wasn't Remus' fault.

"I don't know what you saw but they are in a relationship and whatever they were doing…"

"He FORCED him Remus. You didn't see it and you didn't hear it."

"Talking over me won't help you understand."

"I don't want to understand. I don't need to understand. It's you that needs to! He told him to get on with it and not be a baby and when I walked in, he was forcing Harry to- I can't even say it. It's wrong Remus!"

"I can't talk about what they do sexually because I don't know but whatever it was and whatever was said, Harry wanted it" he blushed as he spoke, not wanting to envision his best friend's son in any sexual situation.

"I need to hear it from him, without that prick in the room. Get him in here."

"Shit! What the fuck is happening? This has got to be some kind of joke" Harry ranted, as he paced the hall, driving Severus berserk.

"Whatever is happening, it most certainly isn't a joke because it is not funny."

"How is he here? I told people he was just behind that veil and that he wasn't dead but no one listened." Severus grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks and put his hands on his hips, keeping him still.

"Harry, if he hadn't died then he would have turned up before now. Something strange is happening and for us to find out what, you need to be thinking straight and not pacing the room like an imbecile."

"I'm sorry. I just don't get it. What is going on? He's going to kill me when he realises that we're together. He will literally kill me."

"He'll have to go through me first" he replied comfortingly, stroking Harry's cheek and kissing his head.

"Sorry to interrupt but Sirius is ready to talk to Harry. Severus, can you wait here for a bit longer?" Severus nodded and Harry followed the man through to the living room, nervous about what his godfather might do or say. He was on the floor where they had left him but he was now conscious.

"Harry," he began kindly, "I need you to tell me the truth about what happened. I know that you're scared but you can tell me."

"Sirius, it's really hard to have to talk to you about this. It was something I never thought I would have to do but I love Severus. We are together and what you saw was not the way it looked; I wanted it to happen."

"Oh my god. It's even worse than I thought. He's made you fall in love with him. Harry, just because you have feelings for him doesn't mean that you have to do things like that. He doesn't love you and you can't let him use you." Harry understood where Sirius was coming from, especially as he had no context or knowledge of their relationship but it was irritating him all the same. He didn't need to hear from anyone that Severus didn't love him, whether he knew it wasn't true or not.

"Sirius, I thought the same and believe me, Harry and I have had a few fights about this but Severus really does love him. I can vouch for that. I've seen it" Remus reasoned.

"So you're just accepting this? You're just accepting that James' son is bending over for him? That slimeball?" he rounded on his friend. Harry couldn't stand the reference to his sex life the way that Sirius had just spoken about it. He hadn't had language like that directed at him before and he didn't know how to react to it.

"I didn't accept it. I nearly lost Harry over this but I realised that it wasn't worth it in the end. Harry is happy with him and now I'm happy that he's happy. He's loved and that's all that matters in a relationship. What they do together is none of my business and it's none of yours either."

"How can you talk like that? It most certainly is our business. We're supposed to protect him. He's my godson and he's practically yours too! Let me out of these ropes!"

"I know that it'll take time to understand Sirius but right now, we need to learn more about what's happened to you. Can we have this discussion another time? Perhaps when everyone isn't quite so wound up?" Remus spoke as if he knew what he was doing but in truth, he didn't. He wanted to make peace between everyone but he had no idea how to do it and above all, he just wanted to know what the fuck was going on.

"Harry, how could you even think about letting him do that to you? He's evil. He's a Deatheater."

"He's not. You don't know him like I do."

"I know him a hell of a lot better than you do!"

"Sirius, you're upsetting him now. Stop!" For the first time, Remus Lupin had silenced Sirius Black with his firm tone. "Now, I'm going to bring Severus back in here so that you can tell us all about what you remember and we can try and work out what's happened."

"We can do this without the help of a paedophile." Harry kicked a recently repaired table over in frustration with his godfather; he was sick to death of all the judgement, especially from someone that was supposed to care for him.

"Do not talk about my partner like that. EVER!"

"Harry…"

"No. Don't. Don't you dare say a single word against him. If you care about me, you'll shut up about this and tell us what we need to know."

"What are you going to do if I don't then Harry?" Sirius asked, calling his bluff.

"I've spent two years without you Sirius and it's been hell but if you care about me so little that you have to make me feel shit then I won't put up with it. If you want your godson in your life then you'll put up with my choice of partner."

"You've grown a lot in two years Harry. I can see that you're a man now but that doesn't mean that I can't worry about you. I will put up with him for the sake of this conversation because I need to know what's going on but after that don't expect me to play nice."

Torn between his head and heart, Harry called Severus back into the room, hoping that he wouldn't truly have to force anyone into an ultimatum or that he wouldn't be given one himself. He had put on a brave act, hoping that Sirius would be scared at the thought of losing him and gotten over his prejudice but he supposed it was going to take a lot more work than that. When Severus entered the room, Harry stood by his side, feeling slightly better knowing that he wasn't alone no matter what happened.

"Ok Sirius, what was the last thing you remember before going through the veil?" Harry began.

"We were all duelling and that bitch of a cousin of mine hit me with something, shoving me through the veil. Next thing I know, I'm coming out of it with a load of strangers and none of you lot are there anymore."

"So there is no gap in your memory? You just literally went through the veil and back out of it as far as you're concerned?" Remus interjected.

"Yeah that's basically it. What actually happened?"

"I think it'll take a while to catch you up on everything that's happened since then Sirius but I will help you with that. Right now, we need to work out what's going on. So did you talk to the other people that came out of the veil with you?"

"Yes. We all thought that it was different times so I guess we were stuck in there for some reason or other. A spell I suppose. I don't know what brought us back out again though and all at the same time too."

"The reformation!" Remus explained in realisation. "Kingsley was removing dark spells and things from the ministry. There must have been a curse on the veil and when it was lifted, you and the others came back."

"That seems likely. I think we need to speak to Kingsley tomorrow and find out what spells were used and also any history of the veil" Severus decided.

"Why exactly are you involved in this?" spat Sirius.

"Because unfortunately I was here when you came back from the dead. Even though it's a memory I'm sure you're dying to forget."

"You prick!"

"Stop it you two! This isn't necessary. Anyway, maybe it's best we stop this for now. Sirius obviously doesn't know any more than he's already told us and there's far too much tension in here for me to cope with" Remus complained.

"Remus is right. Let's just each go to bed and talk to Kingsley tomorrow. No more arguing." Harry went to leave the room with Severus close behind him, wanting nothing more than to just get into bed and out of that situation. Harry physically couldn't understand what had even happened that night and how, let alone try and deal with the hatred between two of the people that he loved the most.

"Where do you think you're going?" Sirius barked.

"To bed like Remus suggested."

"Not with him you're not. He's not staying in my house."

"He is staying with me" Harry argued.

"If you want to share a bed with him, you'll be going somewhere else. I am not having him sleeping under my roof, especially not with my godson. You can moan all you like about being old enough but I am not having anything like that happen in this house again."

"I'm too tired to argue with you Sirius. We're leaving but don't expect me to always cave this easy" Harry narrowed his eyes in anger as he spoke. Severus put a possessive arm on his partner's waist and led him away from his godfather, assuming that the only place left for them to stay was Hogwarts. He took Harry to the fireplace and waited as he disappeared in green dust, waiting for it to be clear before he followed suit. Once he stepped into the fireplace, he turned back around to Sirius.

"You'll regret pushing him away Black."

"Don't talk to me about my own godson. Get back to your dungeon."

Severus obliged with a smirk in his enemy's direction after giving a curt nod to Remus.

"What do you think you're playing at?" Remus asked.

"What? Just because you've lost the plot and think it's ok for them to do… that…doesn't mean that I'm going to be alright with it. Seriously Remus, how can you expect me to allow that under my roof?"

"I've told you that a lot has happened and even if you'll never accept them, you'll at least understand things a lot more when you hear about the last two years."

"I will never understand how Harry could touch that foul creature."

"He loves him Sirius" he replied sadly, shaking his head. His best friend had always been extremely stubborn and difficult but he could see this being the hardest obstacle for them to overcome.

"No Remus. He just thinks he does."

"Listen to me" he said, eyes darkening. "They love each other. I didn't believe it and I didn't like it but you'll see it soon enough. Harry is happy with him and Severus cares about him a lot. That's all we need for Harry."

"No. I need Harry to respect my rules in my house and to stop talking to me the way he has tonight."

"Then maybe you should avoid speaking to him the way that you have been."

The conversation became gradually heated as Sirius refused to listen to his friend and continued with his stubbornness.

In Severus' private quarters, Harry was questioning all of his thoughts out loud to his irritated partner, who could literally think of nothing to say in response.

"Why is he even here? How did he even get here? What's going on?"

"If you keep jumping around like that every single time you ask those questions, I'm going to kick you out of my bed" Severus grunted.

"Who does he even think he is? He just comes back after two years and tries to tell me how to go about my life. How fucking rude is that?!"

"For the ninth time, yes it's rude."

Harry punched the mattress in frustration at everything, himself included. He just couldn't understand how Sirius could have such a big problem; he knew that he disliked Severus and that he would always disapprove but he didn't have to talk to him like that. He was being downright nasty to his own godson.

"Harry, you need to understand that he hasn't had time to adjust yet. Lupin was the same when he first found out about us and he's perfectly fine now so maybe you should give him the time he needs to understand, especially considering he's just advanced two years into the future as far as he's concerned. How would you feel if you did that and everything was different?" He wasn't defending the dog's behaviour, he really wasn't but he didn't want Harry to be upset. He agreed with Harry in all honesty: Black should not have spoken to someone he loved in that way no matter what the situation. He had to convince Harry that things would get better though and saying bad things about his godfather wasn't the way to go about it.

"I guess I can understand that but what if he's never ok with it? I thought he'd left me once before and to be honest, I don't think I could go through that again, particularly considering this time it would be almost like a choice."

Severus pulled the smaller man into his chest, muffling the words he was speaking until he eventually stopped. Talking was getting them nowhere and he supposed that they wouldn't settle tonight so his only option was to offer comfort and hope it was enough. He sighed in thought, wishing that for once he wouldn't have to just hope something was adequate and if it were in any way possible, he would vanish Harry's problems to oblivion. He stroked the side of his lover's head as the younger breathed deeply against his flesh, absorbing any affection that was being offered to him. Worn out from his own emotions, it didn't take long for Harry's breathing to turn into light snoring as he fell asleep, leaving Severus very awake with a heavy lump on his chest.

"So what else has changed? Is everything different? Is the war over?" Sirius questioned, interest over-ruling his anger for once.

"We should talk about this tomorrow when we have more time but yes, the war is over" Remus spoke softly, relieved that Sirius' wrath had subsided and he had made an inward decision to try to keep him that way.

"Harry beat him? He won?"

"Yes. It was a struggle though and Harry very nearly died but he fought very well and won us the battle" pride noticeably came through the explanation with a small hint of sadness, as Remus wished he could recall the end of the war and Harry's success.

"I knew he had it in him. Too young everyone thought. But there's fight in him and you can see it. The thing about Harry is that he had always wanted to do things for the right reasons: it was never about fame or pride but the safety of others as far as he was concerned. Motivation makes a person strong and gives them power. I've always seen it in him, even when we met again in his third year" Sirius appeared to have momentarily forgotten his anger at Harry as he recalled the memory and created a picture in his head of his victorious godson standing in the midst of the action, finally fulfilling his destiny.

"We all had faith in him Sirius. It wasn't that we thought he couldn't do it; it was more that we didn't want him to. I would never have wanted someone so young to have been forced into war the way that he was but he took it on his shoulders and he came through it stronger."

The mutual pride over Harry had recreated a bond between the two wizards and the awkwardness of the night was soon forgotten. Though not wanting to go into much detail that late at night, Remus talked Sirius through what he had been told about the final battle himself, leaving out his involvement and hoping that his friend wouldn't ask.

"Did someone get my lovely cousin for me? Or am I going to have to sort that one out myself?" A glint of evil flashed though his eyes for a split second, which was one of those rare and strange moments where people in his presence were reminded of his family traits. He didn't display them often, in fact he was the exact opposite of the Black stereotype but nonetheless, some things made him bloodthirsty just like any other human.

"Yes. I wouldn't worry about that" the werewolf replied awkwardly.

"I hope it wasn't too quick."

"It was fairly slow and extremely painful but unfortunately not something I can be proud of."

"You? You did it?"

He had let it slip and he hadn't meant to. He had no issue with Sirius knowing this about him, as he wouldn't judge him but all the same, there was no pride to be displayed when it came to his animalistic tendencies.

"Well technically it wasn't me but yes I effectively killed Bellatrix."

"Well done mate. I hope Moony ripped her into bloody shreds!" The manic grin that he had only ever worn in Azkaban escaped and sat itself on his face, showing his sheer happiness at the idea of such a painful death for the woman that had tried to end him. There would have been no punishment painful enough as far as Sirius was concerned but he supposed that being killed by an angry wolf was one of the worst fates his cousin could have suffered.

"So I suppose there have been a lot of changes now then. You'll have to tell me tomorrow. I need to get some rest and get my head around what's going on."

"Me too. Good night Sirius."

"Night Remus."

Both men left the room and headed for separate bedrooms: Sirius for his old one and Remus for a spare down the hall. Just as Remus' hand touched the door handle, he was interrupted by the least expected and most heart-breaking question his friend could have asked.

"Before you go Remus, tell me, is Tonks still following you around like a lost cub?" His smile only lasted a second before he saw the tormented look in his best friend's eyes.


	4. Shocks and Shakes

Altering the events of history

**Disclaimer: I do not own the characters and many of the places mentioned in this story. The plot is the only thing created by me.**

I'm very sorry for keeping you waiting for months. I have genuine reasons, as those of you have checked my profile know. I will be doing a lot better with the updating soon I promise but I can't tell you how often because recovery is getting in the way. Thanks for your patience.

Thank you to Limelight12, my amazing beta, who corrects my ridiculous mistakes! Enjoy the chapter.

* * *

**Chapter 4:- Shocks and Shakes**

When the next day had come around, all four of the wizards involved in the argument the previous night had awoken full of questions. Sirius had been enlightened about the end of the war and the final battle but knew nothing more of what had happened in the past two years, particularly between his godson and enemy. He also wondered why Remus had been so upset about him mentioning Tonks; the last he knew, she had wanted to be with him but Remus had refused. He would definitely be getting some more answers from Remus that morning closely followed by Kingsley, or so he hoped.

Sirius sat in the lounge of Grimmauld Place, noting that not much had changed at all besides appearing to be much cleaner than it was usually kept. Had they got a new house elf? What had happened to Kreacher?

"Kreacher?" he called, curious. To his surprise, the house elf appeared with a crack and looked at him utterly bewildered.

"The son of my mistress has returned from the dead" he said to himself.

"Kreacher, you're still here."

"Yes Master Black. Kreacher lives here with Master Harry and his friends as well sometimes."

"I thought you would have left by now."

"Master Harry and his friends treat Kreacher nicely and so Kreacher decided to stay."

"Morning Remus" he said to his friend, who had just entered the room. He looked like he hadn't slept for a single minute and like he'd been crying, which was very unlike him; it must have been the effects of the war he supposed.

"Morning."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing" he replied sharply, not looking at his friend. They were soon interrupted by the green glow of the fire as someone appeared in the floo network.

"Ted! Nice to see you!" exclaimed Sirius, causing Ted Tonks to almost drop the baby he was holding.

"Sirius? Is that you? Why are you-? What-? How-?"

"We haven't got that far yet Ted" Remus answered. Ted got out of the fireplace, not taking his eyes off Sirius and handed the baby over to Remus.

"Remus, who is that baby and why is its hair changing colour?"

"This is Teddy, my son and his hair is changing colour because he's a Metamorphmagus."

"He's a-? How? Unless you had him with-? Oh." The realisation seemed to have sunk in a bit but Sirius still didn't seem to fully understand what was going on.

"Ted, please don't mention this to anyone yet. We need to sort some things out before people know about him being back."

Ted agreed but looked very shocked as he went back to the fireplace, not quite ready to go to work.

"Remus, seriously, what's going on now? You and Tonks have a son?"

"Yes we have a son. Harry's his godfather."

"Right. So where is Tonks?"

"I can't. I can't Sirius." His friend looked at him, not understanding but once he thought about it, he understood. Remus transfigured a nearby chair into a crib and placed his son inside it, shaking too much to hold him.

"The war?" Sirius asked simply. Remus shook his head, allowing tears to flow.

"She did it. Bellatrix. Wanted to know where Harry was."

"And she wouldn't give in?"

"Of course not!" Remus was really crying now; Sirius shot out of his chair in an instant and wrapped his arms around his friend, unable to think of anything to say to comfort him. He wasn't used to seeing him in such a state.

"She went doing what's right. That's how we'd all like to go. You should be proud of her."

"I am but I miss her Sirius. I don't know what to do with myself. How can I be a good father to Teddy?" he cried into Sirius' shoulder, losing himself in his grief, as he had done with Harry before.

"You will be a good father Remus. It's built inside you to love and to care; you're a great man. You're not expected to raise him alone, you know; he's got his grandparents, his godfather and now he's got me too. None of us will let him go without and you know it."

"Thank you" he whispered into Sirius' shoulder, pretending to feel much better than he actually did.

Despite the similar sorrow shared by those at Hogwarts, the atmosphere was somewhat contrasting in comparison to the morbid conversation at Grimmauld Place. The preparation for the rebuilding of the castle was underway and the staff were working together to repair the old building to the best of their ability. Admittedly, a few tears fell as they remembered the ones lost in the war but they knew that they wouldn't want their friends and families to suffer over their passing; that wasn't what they had died for. With this in mind, the group, led by Headmaster Dumbledore were currently reconstructing the Entrance Hall, which had taken the most damage. Harry and Voldemort's battle alone had caused severe damage, which would have been impossible to fix if it weren't for magic.

A significant number of children's parents were there, helping in any way that they could and trying their best to help recreate the positive atmosphere that Hogwarts once possessed. Instructions were given, spells were cast and spirits were lifted. The target of a week to reinvent the castle may have seemed optimistic but the determination of everyone involved was admirable. There was also the fact that the war was over and the Dark Lord had been defeated, which made almost anything seem feasible.

"Harry, you know that we can't stay long. We need to see Kinglsey" Severus told his partner, as the latter furiously blasted old rubble out of the way and rearranged the bottom few stairs. He was working faster than anyone else, still taking the blame for the state of the place; it was the castle that he'd once called his home and he couldn't cope with being responsible for its destruction.

"I know that but I'm doing what I can before the appointment" he responded, unsmiling and not taking his eyes of the work that he was trying to complete.

"We've only got another hour and we need to go home and inform Lupin and Black before we leave. We can't just barge in with the Minister for Magic without notice." Severus desperately tried to get Harry to look at him but it was all to no avail; his partner appeared to be overcompensating for the part that he believed he had played in the deaths of the fighters.

"Then we've got at least another forty minutes or so to do what we can. Why aren't you helping me?"

"You're avoiding the situation Harry. You can't deal with him being back and you're projecting your thoughts onto anything and everything else."

"What are you, my bloody shrink?" Harry turned to the older man at that point, annoyed that he couldn't simply help out in the reconstruction without being accused of doing it for a particular reason.

"If you want to ignore everything, including me trying to help then that's fine. Just let me know when you're ready to grow up a bit." Severus began helping out Harry, avoiding his gaze and fixing the ridge of the step that his partner had been struggling on for the past few minutes. Severus couldn't be bothered to argue over something so trivial and instead focused his energy on repairing what he could. Several minutes passed in silence, with the couple only conversing with anyone else that had chosen to stop to speak with them.

"I'm sorry" Harry muttered, looking at his feet.

"I don't blame you for being upset or angry but please just accept that I'm trying to help you." He placed one hand on the man's cheek and removed it quickly, remembering that they were in public.

"I will accept that you're trying to help if you realise that no one cares we're together" he whispered softly.

"I know that but I find it hard to show my emotions in front of others. You know that well enough."

"Is this because of how people saw you after the battle?"

"Partially" he sighed in admittance, "I have always felt uncomfortable with public displays of affection but after the way I acted that night, I do not wish to allow the same people to see it again."

"I can understand that and I will be patient with you on that if you're patient with me with other things."

"It's hard to be patient with you" he smirked, "but I am definitely willing to try."

"Hadn't you two better be leaving around now?" Dumbledore asked them both, "I daresay you have enough to be dealing with without trying to help us with this."

"I know sir but I would really like to help in any way that I can."

"We will be here until it is ready again Harry and you can drop in to help any time but right now, you have your own issues to deal with. Once Sirius is declared alive, you do realise that his name will have to be cleared before he is a free man?"

Harry's heart sank; he should have realised that it all wouldn't be simple and no doubt the trials would be more stressful than rebuilding the castle. He had just assumed that with the war over, Sirius' name would be cleared but saying that, he didn't even know what had happened to Peter Pettigrew; knowing him, he probably scarpered during the commotion caused by Harry and Voldemort's fight. He supposed that was just another thing that was going to have to be eventually resolved but how could anyone find a rat? More specifically, how could anyone find a rat that had a history of managing to fool even the oldest wizarding families?

"We will leave now Albus. You will be sure to hear of anything that we find out."

"Thank you Severus. I expect to see you both later on." The old man winked at Harry before leaving them to continue working alongside Professor McGonagall.

"Severus, did they find Peter?"

"Pardon?"

"Did they find Pettigrew and arrest him?"

"No" he responded awkwardly, knowing what Harry's thought process would now be. "Harry, we need to go now. We can discuss this with Kingsley in our appointment."

Minutes later, the two had appeared back in the living room of Grimmauld Place to find a tear-stained Remus Lupin, being comforted by his best friend.

"Harry?" Remus questioned as he heard someone come out of the fireplace.

"Is he ok?" Harry asked his godfather.

"He's better than he has been. I didn't realise how much had been going on" he replied quietly, eying Severus suspiciously across the room.

"Well we did try and tell you how much everything has changed. I assume you've met Teddy?" he asked, gesturing towards the crib.

"I wouldn't say I've met him in all honesty; I've been with Remus since he arrived."

"Remus, don't you think Sirius should meet Teddy properly? Sit down with me for a bit. I need to talk to you anyway."

Remus agreed and sat down with Harry, leaving Sirius to pick Teddy up and Severus to stand awkwardly by himself. Teddy hardly reacted to being picked up by a strange man; he was too young to tell the difference between a loved one and a stranger. The only people he ever seemed to recognise were Harry and of course, Remus. Sirius smiled down at the child in his arms, finding it difficult to remember how to be around a baby, considering the last one he had held was now seventeen-year-old in the room.

"Hi Teddy" he whispered, "I'm Uncle Sirius. I'm your Daddy's friend." Teddy simply stared at the new face, his now pink eyes reflected in those of the man holding him.

"Remus, we have an appointment to see Kingsley in a while so we won't be staying but I'm sure he will want to come round to speak to Sirius. It's up to you if you want to be here or if you need to take Teddy back home."

"I don't live at home anymore. I haven't been back since- I just don't live there. I am staying with Ted and Andromeda at the moment. I have no reason to get back quickly; I have everything I need for Teddy here."

"Did you hear that Sirius?" Harry asked him, practically forcing himself to look over at the man that had upset him the previous night.

"Yes. No doubt I'll be turned into some kind of science project by the ministry" he said bitterly.

"Oh good, we've found something you're useful for" laughed Severus. Harry half-thought that he may have felt left out.

"Well if we need someone that's useful for rape then we'll let you know, shall we?" he retorted.

"Don't you dare start that again! Give Teddy to me!" Harry demanded, suddenly standing very close to the man. Bewildered, Sirius handed Teddy over to him. Harry took him and the boy's hair suddenly changed a raven colour with deep green eyes to match.

"He copied your appearance? What does that mean?" Sirius asked.

"I don't know. He always does it when I hold him. Don't cause arguments in front of my godson. He's only little; I don't want him thinking that he was brought into this world to hear shouting and stupid comments." The whole time that he spoke, Harry rocked Teddy back and forth, settling him into a peaceful sleep.

Sirius stared at his godson with mild surprise on his face; he really had grown up. His caring and consideration for the baby in his arms was far beyond that which any child could muster; he was an adult. That didn't mean that he would be letting the inappropriate relations slide though, not in the slightest.

"We need to go but we will be back with Kingsley very soon no doubt. Leave Teddy to sleep and try to remember as much as you can about the veil before we get back" he instructed as though he were talking to a child. He placed Teddy gently into the crib and turned his back on Sirius, re-joining Severus by the fireplace.

"Are you ready to go?" the man asked him.

"Yes of course. I don't really know what to say to him though. This is all a bit strange."

"Indeed it is. After you." Severus gestured towards the fire and Harry left through it for the Ministry of Magic, closely followed by his partner.

"He's too grown up" Sirius said in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Yes, he has had to have been. He has had too much to deal with; he never had a childhood. He was an adult way before his time."

"I suppose you're right. I vaguely get the gist of the war but is there anything else that I should know? What have I missed?"

"Not a lot of things that are important now. Severus pretended to kill Albus and so he was in hiding until the final battle so now everyone thinks there is some kind of conspiracy between Severus, Harry and Albus."

"I'm not surprised. Do people know about Harry and- him?"

"Yes, everyone knows. I will show you the article another time. It was mainly saying that after discovering that Albus was alive and that Harry and Severus were together, there must be some kind of twisted connection. You know what The Prophet is like."

"What about the Death Eaters?"

"Most of them are dead or captured and the rest are being hunted down. The young Malfoy became a Death Eater at 17 but changed sides with Narcissa at the end of the war and helped us. Lucius was killed by Voldemort."

"And our side?"

"Everyone in the order survived, except Alastor but there were quite a few students killed, as well as Percy Weasley and Pomona Sprout. Harry would have died if it weren't for the locket that Severus had made for him; it contained Felix Felicis and kept him alive when he should have been dead. The fight with Voldemort drained all of his power and the life out of him too."

"Anything else?" Sirius asked, trying to comprehend and remember all of the information that Remus had told him.

"Last year, in the fight after Albus' supposed death, Fenrir attacked Bill Weasley. He didn't turn but he has some difficulties."

"This is a lot to take in but none of it is as shocking as those two getting together. I just can't understand it." Sirius put his head in his hands, wishing for the situation to magically change for him.

"Maybe you should try."

"How can I? How can you? It doesn't make any sense. How can any of this have even happened?"

"I don't know the full story but when I found out, I reacted in exactly the same way that you have. I fell out with Harry and said horrible things to him. I threatened Severus. I nearly lost Harry and it wasn't worth it. Surely you understand that much?" He tried his best to get through to the man but he knew he was pushing his luck.

"I won't lose Harry. We both know that but neither of you can expect me to just accept something like this? How the hell did they even get on first name terms? I can't even imagine that happening from the year I came from!"

"Severus had to live here with Harry in hiding because he was Albus' murderer as far as everyone else was concerned. From there, they became friends and developed feelings for each other. Harry knows all that Severus has done for him and I suppose he must have started to admire him. I don't know how or when they got together though. I never asked."

"Even if I could comprehend Harry developing feelings for him, which by the way I absolutely cannot, I just can't understand how a man our age can return those feelings."

"Does the age really matter? I don't think that's what bothers you. I used that line too but I knew it wasn't really what I had a problem with. It's the fact that he's your rival from school and that you've never liked him. It's not about his age."

"Don't get me wrong, I don't want Harry going near him because of who he is but of course the age affects it too. You think I'd be fine about it if it were you and Harry?" Remus shuddered slightly at the picture that Sirius had painted; he could never look at Harry in that way.

"But we're parent figures to him. It's not the same. Harry is old for his age; you said so yourself and it makes sense for him to be with someone older. I would never have chosen Severus for Harry but it is not my choice, nor is it yours."

"I need to know more about this. I have the right as his godfather to protect him and I want to know exactly what happened, when and why."

"Then you need to ask him."

"Believe me, I will."

It was strange being inside the Ministry of Magic without being worried about expulsion, being arrested and fighting against Death Eaters. It would have made a pleasant change if it weren't for the fact that they still needed to be able to clear Sirius' name before he was able to live a regular life again. Harry supposed he was used to it by now anyway but that wasn't the point; he wanted his godfather to be able to live the best life he could now that he had a second chance.

Severus followed Harry down the winding corridors until they both reached the Minister's office. The older man watched as his partner knocked tentatively on the door, opening it upon being given permission through the door.

"Severus, Harry" Kingsley addressed them both as they entered and asked them to take a seat. Harry assumed that Kingsley thought that they were there about the war or the Dailey Prophet articles. He wouldn't know anything.

"What can I help you with today?" he asked, smiling.

"We had a surprise last night. A big one" Severus told him mysteriously. Harry considered telling him that this wasn't some kind of dramatic story where he needed to create suspense but thought better of it.

"In the form of?"

"In the form of a man that we all believed to be dead."

"And who was that?" Kingsley asked, seemingly confused and interested.

"Sirius Black."

The Minister for Magic looked at the couple in surprise and amusement, almost as if he expected them to say they were joking, but they didn't. He didn't know what to say or do about what he had just been told and had barely comprehended it.

"We assumed you would want to talk to him. He's at Grimmauld Place and he's expecting you."

The smile on Kingsley's face dropped into a frown as he realised that they definitely were being genuine.

"I don't understand."

"Neither do we but maybe it's best that we have this discussion there. There are others that have reappeared that I'm sure you will hear about soon enough."

Without another word on the subject, Kingsley allowed Harry and Severus to use his personal fireplace to floo back to Grimmauld Place and quickly followed suit.

"Sirius?" he inquired as soon as he saw the man.

"Kingsley, good to see you" he smirked, pulling the man into a hug. Kingsley remained still, too shocked to move.

"What-? How-?"

"A lot of people have been saying that" Sirius laughed.

"Maybe you should sit down, Kingsley" Harry suggested.

A good half an hour later, Sirius had explained everything that he knew up to the point of him arriving back at Grimmauld Place (leaving out the situation that he had walked in on) and was waiting for Kingsley to offer some kind of explanation.

"We assumed it may have had something to do with your reformation of the ministry, considering it happened not long after" Severus offered.

"I think you might be right Severus. It took a lot of magic and effort to complete the reformation of that particular room. That veil contained a lot of dark magic. There was one single curse on it and we couldn't identify it but it was so powerful that it took three of us to bring it down. I have an Auror researching the history of the veil currently, as we have no idea where it came from and what it is for. It's rather unsettling."

"Why is something contained within the Ministry if you know nothing of it?" Severus quizzed.

"Your guess is as good as mine but I am happy to keep it there for now. I wouldn't want it falling into the hands of the public when I'm not sure of it. It could be dangerous in the wrong hands, much like anything I suppose."

"Kingsley, what's going to happen to Sirius now that he's not dead?" Harry asked, feeling rather childish.

"At the moment, he is declared officially deceased so we will have to do a lot of paperwork; we've never had to reverse a death certificate before. From then, he will of course be on trial for Death Eater activities. I will do my best to clear his name but sadly, it is not just my decision. If he has the entirety of the Order of the Phoenix backing him, things will be easier and progress much quicker but we may need to find Peter Pettigrew, which as you know is something we've been unable to do since his supposed murder."

Harry hung his head in disappointment; he had been expecting to hear a similar answer but that didn't soften the blow in the slightest. He wished that magical politics would work differently to the muggle world; why wasn't there just simply a spell to see if someone was guilty or innocent? He knew Sirius would get off eventually of course; he had to. They just didn't know how long it would take.

"I will make special requests that Sirius remain a secret from the public until his trial comes around. The last thing we need right now is for people to begin making assumptions; no doubt he will become part of the Harry, Severus and Albus controversy somehow. It's not strictly procedure of course but if I can vouch for his innocence, we should be able to come to some kind of arrangement."

"Thank you Kingsley. We really appreciate this. Let us know if there is anything that we can do for you" Remus told him.

Soon after, the minister left, happy that his friend was in fact alive but worried at the prospect of the amount of paperwork and trials that were necessary. Remus also left with Teddy, wanting to get him settled with his grandparents; Harry and Severus also waiting in line to leave.

"Harry, can you stay for a bit? I need to speak with you."

"That depends on how you're going to be treating me."

"We need to talk. Will you stay or not?" he asked impatiently. Harry looked between his godfather and his partner, unsure of what would be best.

"Ok, I'll stay but this had better be a two-way conversation and not a dictation." Severus eyed his enemy as Harry left his side to stay with him.

"If he comes back to me upset Black, I'll have your bollocks."

"You've had enough bollocks in your lifetime Snape." Severus scowled at the insult and left through the fireplace, hoping that Harry wouldn't be too long with his mutt of a godfather.

"Sit down Harry."

"I feel like a child" he said but obliged all the same.

"I'm going to get straight to the point and I don't want an argument so don't get all hot-headed on me. I want to know what has happened between you and him. How did this happen?"

"I don't really know what to tell you. We were living together and we got close. I fell for him but I never thought he could feel the same."

"But he did or so you say." Sirius still couldn't believe that Severus Snape could feel any form of emotion and was certain that no matter what Harry believed, his godson was being used.

"Yes he did and he still does."

"Ok so if I am to believe that, then explain to me how you happened to end up together."

"Do you really want to hear this? I didn't think you would."

"I need to know how this happened. I have the right to know."

"I'll tell you what you want to know Sirius but I didn't think you'd want to hear it. It's all a bit complicated really. We nearly kissed at Bill and Fleur's wedding; I was seventeen at midnight and we leant in towards each other but we were interrupted. I thought he was only going for it because of the drink. On my birthday, I had an Occlumency lesson with him and he saw my thoughts about him. He ignored them and continued but I was embarrassed. I didn't want him to see more so I used a shielding charm and broke into his thoughts. I saw that he'd been thinking the same. Then we ended up kissing."

"So he waited until you were seventeen so he couldn't be accused of doing anything wrong and then he broke into your mind and kissed you? How romantic" Sirius drawled, disgusted.

"That's not what I said at all and yes, actually it was romantic. He felt so guilty for loving me and he tried his best not to act on it. He ended up pushing me off and I was gutted but then when I went to this club with Ron and Hermione, this guy was trying it on with me and took it too far. Severus saw him and blasted him away. He was so angry. He wanted to protect me."

"So then you got together?"

"Kind of. We were talking the next day about it and that's when we got together I suppose."

"And when did you decide you were going to let him fuck you?" he spat.

"Don't say it like that."

"Why not? It's what you've done isn't it? You're old enough to do it so you're old enough to discuss it."

"That's not something you need to know. It's between us. I would never tell anyone private things like that."

"It's not private when I have to walk in on it! What you two were doing was twisted! You can't let him be forceful like that!"

"That's our business Sirius. I'm not talking about that" he responded with determination.

"Whether you discuss it or not doesn't matter really. Nothing you've said has changed my mind on the matter. He took advantage of you and he should be ashamed. I don't want to see you hurt Harry but when it happens, I'll still be here for you."

"I don't care what you think. I don't need your blessing. And what makes you think that he'll hurt me? I know that he won't."

"You keep forgetting that I've known him longer."

"That doesn't mean you know him better."

"No but it means that I've seen sides of him that you haven't; sides that you wouldn't like."

"Stop trying to turn me against him."

"Believe me I've stopped. If you want to date a rapist then you go ahead."

"How many times Sirius? I WANTED IT!"

"Who said I was talking about you?


End file.
